SoFo Launches Coastal Education Initiative with Maine Nonprofit Chickadeeds
The South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) has announced a new community environmental education initiative, “Coastal Connections: Shared Shores, Shared Futures,” launching in March through a partnership with Chickadeeds, a nonprofit based in Portland, Maine.
The program will offer hands-on environmental education and stewardship activities in both coastal communities and is supported by an anonymous donor. Planned programming includes free workshops, environmental learning activities, volunteer-led conservation events and neighborhood outreach programs geared toward middle school–age children and young adults.
“This partnership demonstrates the power of community-based conservation,” said Frank Quevedo, executive director of SoFo. “By connecting two coastal communities through shared environmental action, we are inspiring the next generation of stewards and strengthening our collective responsibility to protect our shorelines.”
The initiative will launch with SoFo’s annual Amphibian Big Night Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog Search on March 28 in Bridgehampton, New York. Chickadeeds will host a similar Amphibian Big Night event in Portland on April 20.
“Our mission is to make environmental action accessible, family-friendly, and deeply educational,” Jennie Coyne, co-founder of Chickadeeds, said. ”This partnership allows two coastal communities to share resources, compare outcomes, and learn from one another. Coastal Connections: Shared Shores, Shared Futures is building a culture of collaboration, strengthening stewardship on both shores.”
This summer, SoFo’s Balloons for Sharks project will organize volunteers to remove plastic litter from beaches and coastal waters on Long Island’s South Fork, while Chickadeeds will coordinate a comparable plastic litter awareness and cleanup effort in the Portland area.
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